Mumsnet users talk Best before and Use by Dates with Sainsbury’s

[EllieMumsnet]

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The team at Sainsbury’s would love to hear your thoughts on Best before and Use by dates for food and drinks. Do you know the difference between Best before and Use by dates? And which dates, if any, are you most likely to ignore? What foods are you most likely to bin if they’ve gone beyond their Best before date? And, more importantly, how do you use up food that’s gone beyond its Best before date – please share with us your tips! What food storage ‘rules’ do you tend to follow? And finally, how do you ensure you don’t have to throw away food?

Sainsbury’s says “We know there’s often lots of confusion around Best before and Use by dates, as well as how food should be stored properly to avoid it going to waste. So we want to hear your tips and tricks to avoid food going in the bin unnecessarily.”

Add your comment, tips and views to this thread and you will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £300 Sainsbury’s voucher.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T and Cs apply

I ignore use by on things like milk and cream - if it’s off you’re going to know about it! Fruit and veg I would also ignore.

I wouldn’t with meat though or fish, just not worth the risk of feeling poorly, although how big that risk is I have no idea.

I always stick to the use by date unless I have frozen it and I ignore the best before, I go by the look, smell and then make a decision from that, some things like fruit and veg are not ripe until after the best before date. Cheese is fine to eat after the best before date.

I know that you should follow the use by of food but it's safe to eat food after a best before date but the quality may not be as good as the manufacturer can't guarantee freshness after this date.

I plan meals and try to ensure when I buy food it will be in date when I've planned to eat them. If I get caught out as plans change and can't cook that night I'll freeze to use another night.

I keep fruit and veg in the fridge in the packaging to make it last longer except bananas, pineapple, potatoes and onions.

I only tend to look at dates on fresh fruit and veg when buying as a guide to how long it will last. I ignore the dates by the time I get home though,and just go by sight/smell. Meat gets frozen then defrosted on the day I want to cook it, so again have no need to check dates. This also helps to reduce our food waste!

I think far too much food is thrown away in this country because of going past it's use by date, when it's still perfectly fine to eat.

Our dad did the shopping in our house (mum was dead) and he was obsessed with saving money to the point where it was counter productive.

He'd fill the shopping cart with yellow sticker items. Bargain hunters know there are certain days when yellow stickers are more likely to appear and certain times of the day.

You'd start to see the same familiar faces in the super market. Rival Yellow Sticker hunters. Instead of recognising them as contemporaries, we'd see them as rivals.

In super markets in those days, an employee with a label gun would appear and head off purposefully down the aisle. All the bargain hunters had developed a super intensive vision. We could spot a reel of yellow stickers in a label gun at 100 yards. As soon as the shop assistant began to head towards the Fish Counter, we yellow sticker gannets would crowd around her, like seagulls following a trawler.

I wonder if it gave her a sense of power. Or was it frightening to have all these excited trolly dashers flapping around her and clashing baskets.

At the time, we didn't give it any thought, as we were obsessed with getting a marked down item.

Once, my dad left our trolley standing in an aisle, and when we came back, bargain hunters were all over it, like bears at a refuse tip. We had to shoe the people away. Since our trolley had so many yellow sticker items in it, people thought it must be one of those special bargain bins that shops often put at the end of the aisle.

My dad had no worries at all about the Sell By Dates. Which was odd, because he was a doctor. Still he must have known something.

The trouble was, all the sell by dates tending to come at the same time.

So my dad would stiff a steak which was turning a worrying colour, and say, "You need to eat that one soon." So my eating habits were dictated by arbitrary deadlines. I once at five minute steaks at a sitting. They needed eating, you see.

That's wrong, now I think of it.

Mind you, I've never had food poisoning.

I'm much more careful these days. I still don't understand the various terms they use. I just buy a yellow stick item then stick it in the freezer.

Don't bother buying yellow sticker bread. It's a false economy, unless you're planning to use it in the grill as a way of mopping up fat.

Sometimes the reductions on food items are a bit miserly. I'm sure they used to be a lot more generous. Maybe the yellow sticker staff have got more canny about pricing.

It's a game of cat and mouse.

I go by the use by date and if I know I won’t use the products in time and they can be frozen I will do that to stop wastage.

I know the difference between best before and use by. Best before I always ignore and would use past the date. Tinned I wouldn't think twice. Anything in permeable packaging I would check to make sure it's not spoiled.

Fruit and veg - I look, feel and smell.

Chicken - I would be wary. Maybe the next day would be the last one or I would chuck in freezer on the use by date.

Beef and pork - I would use the next day. Maybe 2

Fish. I would use before the day as it's usually already been frozen

I would never cook and eat meat or fish after the use by date. I do however feel that cooking the meat (even on the use by date) gives me an extra 3 days or so and so I have no issues with eating leftovers after the original use by date.

I haven't been able to find any guidance on this matter but we have never got sick from home cooked food.

If anyone can point me towards correct info on the matter I'd be really interested.

My nose and sense of smell are my lead in all things relating to best before and use by. The most useful advice to promote in my opinion is about how long items can be stored after opening. Some things eg ready made soup- go off quite quickly after opening and may be unsafe to eat even if still within sell by date.

Common sense needs to be used sometimes - Mature cheddar - been around for 18 months... WHY would you throw it out on some arbitrary day 2 or 3 months later? a few days is not going to make a difference.

I use to religiously chuck everything which was out of date
Now I’m being really careful when buying food and drinks they have few days to go and always chuck chicken and fish if is out of date or even within date but smells...
Supermarkets own brands seem to have less expiry date on products than brands so if I want something to last longer open in fridge I would go for brands

Used to work in the food industry, so know about use by/ best before dates.

Regularly eat food after best before date - often VERY after, especially if it's tinned or dried. I know it's just likely to not be at it's prime, but not dangerous.

Use by dates - I try to eat by the use by date, but would sometimes eat 1-2 days later, if the product hasn't been opened and it's something like yoghurt or mince.

I'm most cautious with chicken and fish and will tend to freeze if I'm not going to manage to use before the use by date.

The thing I get most exasperated by is the advice to 'use within 3 days' (or similar) after opening on a lot of fresh products, especially things like juice, or cheese which is usually fine much longer.

We've never had any food poisoning issues, so we must be doing things OK.

That’s interesting, Pebbles.

I will happily eat dried rice, legumes or pasta way past sell by (as long as it’s not moving) and unopened yoghurt is fine (if the tub isn’t swollen). Fish and foul - I’d not risk it but red meat is ok if it’s not smelly/slimy. I put eggs in water if I’m not sure and check the yolk before using.

Mouldy/furry things are usually thrown - especially since I saw a programme about mould in jam being really nasty.

We learned a lot of this in home economics at school. Don’t they still do this?

I can tell the difference and don’t trust the use by date anyway. I do by my own sense of whether things are off - chicken has often gone off before it’s got to the use by date, particularly from one supermarket round here starting with T. I have also found green bacon and spinach that’s gone floppy, all before the use by date.

So unless you can 100% guarantee that the store has kept it adequately chilled during packing, transportation, storage and stacking, then I will continue to use my own judgement regardless of what the use by date is.

Am perfectly happy to eat food that’s over as well, as long as it looks good.

Do you know the difference between Best before and Use by dates? I understand Use By to be the 'safe' date whereas Best Before is more about appearance or subtle taste difference.

And which dates, if any, are you most likely to ignore?
I ignore both. I buy around 50% of our weekly shop from the reduced aisle and veg regularly sits in the fridge for a further week before getting eaten! As long as it smells and looks ok, we will eat it.

What foods are you most likely to bin if they’ve gone beyond their Best before date?

Any meat that looks dodgy or cheese that smells foisty. Veg that has gone mushy... Will salvage what I can from veg though before throwing!

And, more importantly, how do you use up food that’s gone beyond its Best before date – please share with us your tips!
If I've had a bit of a splurge on the reduced aisle veg or I've got loads about to go bad, I will often make soup - eg spiced parsnip, carrot and apple, leek and potato etc. With meat I will either freeze it until I need it or cook up a batch of something that can easily be microwaved at the end of a busy day. Eg bolognese, stew, slices of chicken which can be used in a pasta sauce. I work funny hours so I'm often home in the day but out in the evening, therefore these quick meals are a lifesaver and good use of my spare time.
A good tip is to always keep a stock of spices/sauces so you can make a tasty dish out of whatever you need to use up. I always have a fully stocked spice cupboard and also keep in various sauce jars like Thai curry paste, jerk marinade etc.

If bread has gone a bit TOO crusty, I will sprinkle with water, wrap in foil then bake for 15 mins to revive. This is good with batch loaf / fresh bread to have with soup and stew!

I'm very open to mixing different flavours and more of a 'bit of everything' chef. Happy to grate a sad looking carrot into a pasta sauce, or eat leftovers for breakfast!

What food storage ‘rules’ do you tend to follow? I freeze most meat we buy, and get it out on the day I need it.
I keep all veg in the veg drawers as I'm led to believe this keeps them fresher! I check the veg we have before each meal and use whichever looks closest to going bad if possible. So for example, tonight we have salmon as that's what I got out the freezer. The red cabbage was on the way out, so we are having homemade slaw with BBQ marinaded salmon.

Bread lives in a Tupperware to stop it going stale.

Meals made ahead get frozen in a Tupperware with a date and quantity on a sticker. This makes sure I use the frozen stuff up in good time too. We often have these meals for lunch as they are easy to take to work and microwave.

And finally, how do you ensure you don’t have to throw away food?
My husband eats leftovers for lunch almost every day... literally his lunch is based on what needs eating. Luckily if it's good, he eats it - not a fusspot! My dog very much appreciates any veg or meat that looks too far gone for us, but still 'safe'. He gets lots of compliments on his amazing coat - it's because he gets so many supplements to his diet!! Because of him, we don't throw away ends / discarded bits of veg, fat from meat, fish skin, left over rice. He's a great environmental waste solution 😉

Well, if stuff has no visible signs of decay, smells fine and looks fine, I just eat it.
Cheese I cut the mould off, jam I scoop it off the top.
But bread - I won't eat if there is any mould in the bag, as I know it can get into bread easier and be invisible. Mould won't hurt you really, but it can upset your tummy and, obviously, mildewed food does not taste nice.
I don't buy bread really as I live on my own and can't manage a loaf in time.
I'll eat most thing past their 'best before', 'use by', or 'sell by' dates.

But the best tip is proper food planning and planning around leftovers.

I won't consume drinks that are past their sell by or best before dates but sometimes do food, if it smells OK. In the case of dairy and fish products though, that always has to go. I learnt my lesson on that a few years ago, after an unfortunate consequence of drinking a probiotic drink which was a couple of days past its best!

I was always throwing away hummus and jars of things that required you to consume within so many days or weeks of opening as I never remembered when I had opened them. Now I keep a sharpie pen near the fridge to write on when they need to be consumed by.

I use best before dates as a guide, and also go by how things look, smell, and taste.

I never use anything after the use by date I try to use it a few days before or if I know am not going to use it I give it away to someone that will rather than it go to waste and the best before I always check my cupboards and freezer to see how long something has left if it’s less than 3 months I donate to the food bank if possible rather than bin it

Don't mind a few days after Best Before but some things clearly aren't nice anything longer

If it states use before I will stick to it if it is chicken or fish but have eaten other foods one day past the date would not eat any later.Best before means food just looses its quality so would use it later than the date on the pack

I think Best Before dates are misleading, encouraging people to just see the date and throw out perfectly good food. Use by dates are entirely necessary.